Sarah (Sally) Hendrickson Holmes

Periodca. 1820

MediumPastel on paper

Dimensions26 × 22 in. (66 × 55.9 cm)

ClassificationsPortraits

Credit LineGift of Joseph H. Holmes and Katherine Holmes Coe, 1931

Object number59

DescriptionThree-quarter length portrait of an adult female facing right, with an angular nose, thin lips, blue eyes, and brown/iron gray hair visible as narrow short curls beneath the day cap ruffles along her forehead. She is wearing a black dress with a wide square neckline, high waist, and long sleeves gathered at the shoulders and again at the wrists. A white neckerchief worn high on the neck is tucked into the gown front. A white day cap features three rows of ruffles along the brim, with corded or piped edges, and a large bow rosette on the top. The subject's left hand supports her right arm. She wears triple-strand pearl beads in a choker style, and one visible gold oval earring. The background consists of a vibrant blue plain ground, somewhat streaked or mottled in appearance. Mounted on wood stretchers, and lined with a sheet of newspaper from The True American dated 10 May 1819.
Curatorial RemarksOn occasion, Micah Williams produced copies of his portraits upon request. Virtually identical portraits, also in pastel, of John and Sarah Holmes are in the collection of the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, New York. The artist’s style remained consistent through twenty years, and it is possible that one of John’s and Sally’s children requested duplicates of the portraits for their own home. Both pairs of likenesses remained in the Holmes family until being donated to museums by direct descendantsNotesSarah or Sally Hendrickson (1767 - 1824) was a daughter of Col. Daniel Hendrickson (1736 - ca. 1799) and Catherine Van Brunt (1738 - ?). She was the youngest of six children. Sarah's father was a land surveyor and a well-known Revolutionary War figure, serving as Colonel in the Third Regiment of the Monmouth County Militia. Sarah married John Samuel Holmes (1762 - 1821) ca. 1791. The couple had six children. For a time, the couple lived in Holmdel village in the "Academy," a farmhouse opposite the present church. In 1810, for the sum of one dollar, Holmes purchase the "Caintuck" or "Old Kentuck" farm from his brother Samuel Holmes (1766 - 1844), where John and Sarah lived until their deaths.

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